The present invention relates to an improved music application apparatus for causing a music application software (hereinafter referred to as a “music application”) to progress on the basis of information pertaining to operation of performance operators on an electronic musical instrument connected with the music application apparatus, an improved electronic musical instrument capable of operating in an interlocked relation to the music application caused to progress by the music application apparatus, and computer programs for the music application apparatus and electronic musical instrument.
Music application apparatus have been known, which allow users to enjoy music applications that also have functions of providing a guide as to how to use an electronic musical instrument and providing music piece performing lessons. For example, a music application apparatus (in the form of a personal computer), disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3,058,051, is connected via a MIDI interface etc. to an electronic musical instrument. The disclosed music application apparatus prompts a user to operate performance operators on the electronic musical instrument, by executing a music game (music application) designed to sequentially display performance operators of the electronic musical instrument, to be operated in accordance with a progression of a given music piece, using character images etc. Specifically, images of performance operators, such as keys of a keyboard, are visually displayed on a display screen so that a human player or user can immediately know which of the keys should be depressed or operated, but also notes of a melody of a given music piece are displayed, for example, in character images of “apples” in such a manner that the “apples” sequentially fall down to a bottom portion of the display screen in accordance with a progression of the given music piece. As the player operates any one of the performance operators (e.g. keyboard keys) of the electronic musical instrument, connected with the music application apparatus, in accordance with the corresponding falling “apple” reaching a predetermined position on the display screen, an image of an “arrow” shot toward the falling “apple” is displayed on the screen. If the human player has operated the performance operator at proper timing, the “arrow” is displayed on the screen as having successfully hit the target “apple”, and a score count is incremented accordingly. If, on the other hand, the human player has failed to operate the performance operator at proper timing, then the “arrow” is displayed on the screen as having missed the target “apple” and, in this case, the score count is not incremented. In the disclosed music application apparatus, the above procedures are carried out as a kind of “music game”. With the thus-arranged music application apparatus, the human player can readily learn how to use the functions of the electronic musical instrument connected with the music application apparatus, how to manipulate the performance operators for a desired music piece, etc. while enjoying the music game or music application.
Further, in recent years, it has been generally common to package a music application together with an electronic musical instrument of a particular manufacturing company, with a view to promoting sales of the electronic musical instrument of the particular manufacturing company or of a particular model. However, heretofore, even a same music application, provided for sales promotion of an electronic musical instrument of a particular manufacturing company (or a particular model), was allowed to operate in a full function mode (i.e., without significant functional limitations) with not only the electronic musical instrument of the particular manufacturing company (or particular model) but also an electronic musical instrument of any other manufacturing company than the particular manufacturing company (or another model than the particular model). Namely, even where a music application was provided for sales promotion of an electronic musical instrument of a particular manufacturing company, the music application was permitted to appropriately operate with an electronic musical instrument of another manufacturing company in generally the same manner as with the electronic musical instrument of the particular manufacturing company. In such a case, there would be encountered the problem that the provision of the music application could not effectively lead to a differentiation between the electronic musical instruments of the particular manufacturing company and other manufacturing company and hence hardly contribute to sales promotion of the electronic musical instrument of the particular manufacturing company.
As one possible approach for avoiding the problem, the music application may be arranged to not work at all when an electronic musical instrument of another manufacturing company than the particular manufacturing company is operatively connected with the music application. However, in the case where the music application is arranged to not work at all when the electronic musical instrument of the other manufacturing company is connected, there would be caused another inconvenience that superior functions etc. of the electronic musical instrument of the particular manufacturing company can not be effectively presented at all to potential users through actual functionality comparisons with the electronic musical instrument of the other manufacturing company, so that the potential users desiring to ascertain the functions of the electronic musical instrument of the particular manufacturing company prior to purchase are often left unconvinced of advantages of the electronic musical instrument of that company.